THE REBUKE
Choosing When to Cry
I know as a Black woman, sometimes we cry, shed tears, and grieve as we witness the ways we are marginalized and oppressed. But the older I get, the more I’ve come to realize—you have to pick and choose when you let your tears fall and when it’s time to stop and walk away. It’s like a bad relationship. Most of us have had them, unfortunately. You know when you’ve invested one date too many, or when you gave in too quickly and found yourself chasing like a dog in heat. Eventually, most of us snap out of it, though some get caught up for decades.
The Problem with Native Land PODCAST
I am a firm believer that it’s okay to be vulnerable and shed a few tears when we are hurt. But here I’m talking about tears shed for causes that don’t truly impact your daily life. Specifically, the Native Land podcast hosted by Angela Rye, Tiffany Cross, and Andrew Gillum. This trio presents themselves as the intellectual voices of the Black community. Tiffany Cross had her own show on MSNBC but was terminated because of her rhetoric; Angela Rye at one point worked for the Congressional Black Caucus and was a CNN correspondent until she was silenced after a spar with Chris Cuomo; and Andrew Gillum was once a rising star akin to Barack Obama, but was caught up in a drug and homosexual scandal that cost him everything.
I say “Black” broadly, because they don’t really stand with ADOS, though they sprinkle in talk of reparations under a Pan-Africanist banner. They present themselves as representing all Blackness while pretending to align with the ADOS struggle, yet they embrace practices that cripple our community and shed tears for causes that have nothing to do with our struggles.
The truth is, these three have been an embarrassment to the Black community, both in their private lives and public personas.
Recently, on their podcast, they were discussing Trump and Union Station. They called out Trump and his so-called “Gestapo-style takeover” of an American city—namely D.C.—and his threat to send the National Guard to Chicago. They pretend there is no crime. Meanwhile, residents in D.C. and Chicago—both Black and white—are literally begging for the National Guard to come into their communities because of unchecked violence. This wouldn’t even be on the table if politicians were doing their jobs and addressing the crime devastating urban neighborhoods. And yet, instead of uplifting accountability, they invoke Jamal Bryant—the pastor who still leads a large congregation despite his affairs while married, his out-of-wedlock son whom he does not support—if not financially, then certainly not emotionally or spiritually—and his recent alignment with the LGBTQ agenda that blatantly contradicts Biblical principles.
Democrats have done nothing to solve this crisis. No legislation for education. No solutions for housing. No answers for drug addiction or gang violence. No protection from illegal immigration overwhelming our communities. And yet instead of addressing these realities the three host get on air and cry foul.
False Narratives and Distractions
When Tiffany Cross had her own show on MSNBC (The Cross Connection), she was let go after controversial commentary—such as saying the handling of Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion showed how “white NFL coaches do not protect Black bodies”—even though the Dolphins' coach, Mike McDaniel, is biracial. Those remarks didn’t align with reality, and she was put on the hot seat for presenting only one side of the story. The truth is, there are serious issues with how the NFL treats players’ bodies in general, but all of that gets overshadowed by race when commentary comes from individuals like Tiffany Cross.
More recently, an activist known as Afeni was arrested in D.C. for fare evasion. She was caught using a student pass she didn’t qualify for and resisted arrest. Police—not the National Guard—detained her. Yet the podcast framed this as though her arrest were tied to military presence in D.C. That’s false. And it ignores the real fear in our communities: gun violence, carjackings, robberies, and murder. When someone like Afeni miscasts fare evasion as a political stand for Black rights, it doesn’t elevate our struggle—it cheapens it.
And this is exactly the kind of distraction that keeps us from focusing on the real work of protecting our people—work that leaders like Mayor Bowser are actually trying to do in D.C. under difficult circumstances.
And let’s talk about Miriam Bowser, the mayor of D.C., and her struggle as a Black woman leading a city in crisis. Since she has been in office, she has faced the reality of rising crime and she knows the truth: D.C. doesn’t have enough police officers or resources to handle it all. So when the National Guard was sent in, she welcomed the help. And guess what? The results showed reductions. Carjackings went down. Shootings went down. Arrests were made. Is it sustainable? Probably not. But Mayor Bowser understands that every day someone else lives is a victory. She’s doing the best she can with what she has.
Yet when I hear Angela Rye and Tiffany Cross condemn this Black woman for trying to find light in a bad situation, I say to myself—you two are the problem. They even went so far as to call her a fascist. And I have to ask: why? Why is a Black woman working to protect her city suddenly a fascist? She’s running a city. They’re running a podcast. That is not the same thing.
And Andrew Gillum, who was once Mayor in Tallahassee, and who the opportunity to be a governor threw it all away, now sits there lecturing a woman who has not thrown away her opportunities. A women who is still working, still diligent, still trying to protect the ADOS community. For him to throw stones at her is sickening. It’s scandalous. It’s shameful.
But instead of shining a light on the hard work of someone like Bowser, these hosts choose to mock, condemn, and distort the reality of what’s happening. It’s the same pattern they fall into again and again—choosing emotional anecdotes and shallow outrage over truth and solutions.
Tiffany Cross and the Immigrant Anecdote
Bring in the tears and you go from soup to nuts in five seconds. Tiffany Cross goes even further, recounting a story about a young immigrant girl—or maybe several girls—walking down the street, supposedly being followed by four individuals she assumed were ICE agents. She admitted nothing happened, yet she was in tears retelling the story. Crying over a scenario with no evidence beyond her own perspective.
This is the problem with our so-called media outlets today. Instead of providing real news, they package bias and opinion as if it were fact. They use emotional anecdotes to stir sympathy but never address the actual issues plaguing the Black community. They spend endless time spinning stories about illegal immigrants—ignoring the pressing realities in our neighborhoods.
Illegal immigration doesn’t help our communities. It drains resources, undercuts wages, and shifts political focus away from the issues that matter most to Black Americans. Our ancestors did not build this nation for it to be handed over to those who come here illegally. As Tiffany told this story she cried, Angela cried and Andrew coddled them both. We need legislation that strengthens our communities, not policies that ignore us in favor of others.
Venezuela, Cuba, and Misplaced Blame
And then there’s this other false narrative—this idea that because America has intervened or competed with nations like Venezuela or Cuba, we are somehow responsible for their decline and therefore owe them open borders. That’s simply not true. Take Venezuela: for years, America bought oil and fueled their economy. Instead of using that revenue to diversify and invest in their people, Venezuela’s leaders gave in to greed and corruption. When America began sourcing oil elsewhere, their economy collapsed—not because of America, but because they built their entire foundation on a single export and never invested in their future.
The same can be said about Africa during the slave trade. Many nations enriched themselves by selling human beings, investing everything into slavery while ignoring long-term development. When slavery ended, those economies collapsed because they had put all their resources into a corrupt system. It’s no different from nations today relying on drugs, oil, or human trafficking for economic survival. When you put everything into exploitation instead of building sustainable systems, collapse is inevitable.
That’s not America’s fault. That’s not Black America’s responsibility. And it’s certainly not a reason to excuse or defend mass illegal immigration into this country and into our communities.
Native Land doesn’t address these facts. Instead, they give us anecdote after anecdote.
Shattering the Image
When I listen to people like Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, Joy Reid, and even Roland Martin, I realize they’re trying to hold on to an image of America that was created by a party whose main goal was always to keep African Americans—ADOS—oppressed. We were used as pawns in their game to maintain power, and they’re still tripping over that same old image. But here’s the truth: ADOS is started to shatter these images and turn our backs on their false narratives. However, so-called black leaders, who have descended from the elite continue to hold the line and are not ashame to get on their podcast and cry over made up stories.
They understand that the Democratic Party as it stands today is diluted. It’s not strong. It has no real power. It’s weak. Yet they continue trying to gaslight us by saying we’re the ones being gaslighted. But we’re not. We understand what’s happening with immigration. We understand what happened in Venezuela. We understand what happened in Cuba. We understand what’s happening in Mexico. We’re not dumb.
They play this card as if they are the “intellectuals,” as if everyone else is just too simple to get it. They want us to believe they’re the smartest ones in the room. But in reality, they are not. Because if they were, they would understand that we already see the game for what it is—and we’re done playing it.
We are thinking about how to actually save our communities. We’re looking for ways to rise out of our circumstances without having to bend and beg before white corporate America. We’re ready to depend on our own capabilities, our own talents, our own intellectual skills, and our own creativity. That’s the vision we’re chasing—not the distraction of “saving” illegal immigrants who chose to leave Venezuela, Cuba, or wherever else to come here.
And one more thing: they love to talk about “Black and Brown” people. But let’s be real. When they say that, they’re talking about Venezuelans, Mexicans, and other so-called immigrants whose skin is not Black or Brown at all, but closer to the complexion of white America. Meanwhile, they’re not talking about Haiti. They’re not talking about the Congo. They’re not talking about Sudan. They’re not talking about the places where true Black struggle is happening in the world—and nobody’s paying attention to it.
What I Have to Say to Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, and Andrew Gillum
What I have to say to people like Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, and Andrew Gillum—who all carry stained pasts—is this: it’s not the stain that bothers me. We all have stains. We all have chapters in our past that we regret or wish we could change. Some of us wear those stains openly, even as scarlet letters. That’s human.
But when you stand on your platform with tears in your eyes for illegal immigrants I think of you as buffoons, when you parade Jamal Bryant around as though he speaks for the people of God, that’s when it becomes a problem. Because Jamal Bryant does not speak for our communities.
Nothing I have was handed to me. Everything I own, I worked for—with my own sweat, tears, prayers, and walk. I raised a son as a single Black mother. Then, after marriage and divorce, I raised two sons as a single mother. I still own my own home. I was never hindered by redlining, because I never chased the dream of living in a “white” neighborhood. I always wanted to live in a diverse community, and I have.
I’ve lived in some poor communities where drugs and guns were weaved into the fabric of our neighborhoods. Yes, my car was broken into. My house was broken into. But it wasn’t white people doing it—it was Black people in my neighborhood. I understood there were issuess with drugs and guns and our children. We need to be using our platforms to discuss legislation and polices that will help uplift our communities. Trump is a man with only a few more years of power. While Democrats have nothing to offer to check that power except tears and ridicule.
And still, I did not abandon my community. Even today, I live among both Black and white neighbors, side by side, peacefully. I can leave my car window down overnight and know it won’t be touched. Does crime exist here? Of course. Crime exists everywhere. But I am rooted where I am, because I care about my community and what it means to be ADOS.
And when I look at the platforms handed to people like Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, and Andrew Gillum, I see wasted opportunities. They were given stages and microphones, and what did they do? They made themselves look like fools. Now they want us to forget all of that, to pretend it never happened, and to listen simply because they call themselves smart. But if you were truly smart, you would have made better choices with the opportunities you were given.
I didn’t have a stage handed to me. I didn’t have a microphone passed to me. I built what I have through hard work. Yes, I’ve encountered racism. I’ve lost jobs because of it. But I’ve also moved forward, because for every racist in one space, there are people in another who are not.
That’s why I can say this without hesitation: I have more respect for southern Republicans than I do for northern white Democrats. At least the Republicans are straightforward. They let you know who they are. You can see the snake in front of you, and decide whether to go around it or walk right through it. But the northern Democrats are the eels—you never see them coming. They say, “We want to help you build wealth.” And yet their version of “help” is Section 8 housing, paying rent forever, building their equity while you never own land, never gain equity, never build wealth of your own.
That’s not help. That’s control. And that’s why their game no longer works on us.
